The Fiery Spirit of Adventure
by DarkAngelofOtaku
Summary: What if, instead of one of Doflamingo's lackeys, the Flame-Flame fruit was found by a young man in the West Blue. GIVE STORY A CHANCE BEFORE YOU CONDEMN!
1. Chapter 1

**THE FIERY SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE; A ONE PIECE FANFICTION**

Synopsis: We all know that Devil Fruit return to circulation when the former user dies. What if, instead of one of Doflamingo's lackeys, the newly recreated Flame-Flame Fruit was found by a young man in the West Blue? GIVE THIS STORY A CHANCE BEFORE WRITING IT OFF AS A BS MARY SUE!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. The wonderful man known as Eiichiro Oda does.

Chapter 1:

_Sprangu Island, West Blue…_

An older teen lay on the branch of a tree with his hands behind his head.

The young man had a brown mullet going just past his shoulders with two different colored highlights; mostly red with a little bit of blonde. He wore a dark green T-shirt, brown trousers, and tan sandals.

For the longest time, this young man had dreamt of becoming a pirate and having adventures on the high seas. He didn't really care too much if he found the legendary One Piece or not; that would just be a perk if he did. What he was after was excitement, going to new places, and meeting new people. His mother knew how much this dream meant to him so she had made a deal with her son; do the best he could in school and the day after his eighteenth birthday, she would allow him to head out to sea.

The young man met his mother's expectations, easily being among the top five most educated children in town. He was only ranked fifth but fifth out of twenty four wasn't bad.

Anyways, he could hardly contain his excitement… as tomorrow was his eighteen birthday… which meant in just two days; his dream would begin to come true! He knew he would become a renown pirate, following in the footsteps of several buccaneers who were also West Blue natives such as Capone "Gang" Bege, the sole survivor of the Ohara buster call, Nico Robin… not to mention one of the Four Emperors; "Red-Haired" Shanks himself!

Deciding to head home, he sat up on the tree branch, ready to jump to the ground… when he noticed something. He had been in an apple tree and he just took note of the fact that one of the apples was larger than it should be. Not to mention the fact that it was a bright reddish-orange color and there were strange swirl marks covering it.

The young man grasped the strange apple and plucked it from the tree. With produce in hand, he slid off the branch and touched down on the grass.

'I bet Uncle will know what this is. He's very knowledgeable about weird stuff," he thought, studying the fruit in his hand, 'heh… almost looks like a fire ball.'

He walked back to town, straight to his uncle's shop.

"Ah…" the man said, "how's the birthday boy doing?"

"Birthday man, Uncle," he replied, "I'm turning eighteen."

"Ah yes. Sorry about that," the man nodded, "say… what's that you got?"

"I found it in the apple tree I was resting in," he held it out so his uncle to examine it.

… only for his uncle to pull back in shock.

"My boy, do you know what that is?!"

"A big, weird apple."

"No. Much more than that. That… is a Devil Fruit."

The young man's eyes lit up, "a Devil Fruit?! For real?! I always wanted to eat one!"

"That's not just any Devil Fruit," his uncle continued, "remember the Paramount War five months back?"

"Yeah, both Whitebeard and 'Fire Fist' Ace were executed. Things got pretty crazy."

"Things will get even crazier," his uncle went on, "for you hold the source of 'Fire Fist' Ace's power in your hand. That… is the Flame-Flame Fruit."

"But I thought no Devil Fruits were the same?"

"They're not. But when someone who has eaten a Devil Fruit dies, the fruit's power will eventually manifest itself in another piece of fruit. You see, no two of the same Devil Fruit exist… at the same time."

"Then this is really the one that made Ace so infamous?" The young man had a hungry look in his eye as he eyed the prize he held.

His uncle nodded, "indeed."

The young man smirked, "then there's only one thing to do."

His uncle watched in fascination as his nephew raised the fruit to his lips and opened his mouth…

And there's chapter one, folks. I don't know if any other fanfic writers have tried this angle but I'm going to go with it. If you liked it or are intrigued, leave a comment. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Thank you for taking the time to read this first chapter regardless. *bows in gratitude*


	2. Chapter 2

**THE FIERY SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE; A ONE PIECE FANFICTION**

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. The wonderful man known as Eiichiro Oda does.

Chapter 2:

After polishing off the Flame-Fruit Fruit, the youth did that thing where you suck your fingertips after eating, "man… the rumors were right. Devil Fruit do taste like crap."

His uncle chuckled, "well, gaining new power usually comes with various levels of discomfort. It's a fact of life."

The young man nodded in agreement and set off back home, wishing his uncle a good day.

"Hey mom," he called as he walked through the door.

"Hey sweetie," she smiled. His mother was an attractive woman with shoulder-length brown hair in a bob-style and she was wearing a yellowish-orange sleeveless top, burnt orange knee-length skirt, and brown flats.

He walked up behind her, reaching around so that his hand was in her line of sight and snapped his fingers, producing a small flame that was quickly extinguished.

His mother, naturally startled, dropped the dish she was washing back into the soapy water-filled sink.

"Heavens, Zachariah! How did you do that?"

Our main character, now identified as Zachariah, smiled, "I found a Devil Fruit while climbing down from the tree I usually longue in… and I ate it. Now I'm literally fired up. Heheh."

Zachariah's mother had mixed feelings upon hearing this bit of information. While she was happy her beloved son now had an ability that would help him achieve his dream of becoming a great pirate, she was also worried. Didn't people who had eaten a Devil Fruit lose the ability to swim? Borderline fatal in a world that was mostly covered by water it was. Strange that with how many people had eaten them, you hardly hear of death by drowning due to that little drawback.

Zachariah headed up to his room to pack for his ensuing adventure, grabbing his spyglass, compass (he'd have to obtain a log pose once reaching the Grand Line), and his cash boxes. There were ten total, chock full of the berries he had saved over the last several years; including allowances, birthday money, and tips for doing odd jobs around the village. He knew he had enough for a ketch, cutter, or sloop.

Tomorrow, he would take his rowboat and head over to the neighboring Noen Island, which specialized in small boats, the kind that would be perfect for starting out his journey.

But first, Zachariah felt a change of wardrobe was in order.

And there's chapter two, folks. Next chapter, Zachariah begins his journey by obtaining his first ship, as well as his first crewmate. Spoiler; it's a girl. See you next time.


	3. Chapter 3

**THE FIERY SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE; A ONE PIECE FANFICTION**

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. The wonderful man known as Eiichiro Oda does.

Chapter 3:

Zachariah walked downstairs, sporting his new outfit.

Our protagonist now sported a red headband tied in back under a ponytail, sleeveless black trench coat over a red T-shirt, black fingerless leather gloves that went halfway between his wrists and elbows with the part covering the arms flared out, and olive green cargo pants tucked into black boots.

After a send-off party hosted by his mother, Zachariah packed his essentials and got into a row boat one of their neighbors owned. Said neighbor was a fisherman and assured Zachariah that he'd pick it up next time he was over on Noen Island for business.

After about an hour of rowing, our hero finally made port on Noen Island. He had immediately found someone who did frequent business with his neighbor who lent him the rowboat and explained the situation. The client was more than willing to help with a favor for his favorite supplier.

While heading off for the shipyard, Zachariah noticed a girl watching the sea.

Or trying to, as she wasn't alone.

"Hey baby," a guy that looked like trouble purred, "why don't you accompany me and the boys to the Sea Shanty tonight. It's Young Lovers Eat Free Night."

"We are not lovers," the girl spat.

"Oho… playing hard to get. I like that."

He went to grab her arm… and she retaliated; swinging her arm with such force that the wind generated blew him back a couple of feet and on his butt.

"That's it," he seethed, getting up, "get her, boys! We'll show her just how much fun it can be to hang with the Sea Kings!"

This is where Zachariah stepped in.

"Ha! 'Sea Kings?' More like Sea Jokers," he scoffed, walking up.

"What was that?" the leader snapped.

"I don't believe I stuttered," Zachariah said flatly.

"Get him!"

The four other guys charged. Zachariah immediately slugged the token fat one in the gut, winding him and dropping him to his knees. The token tall guy tried to grab his right arm, but he took hold of his wrists and kneed the guy where the sun don't shine.

"Two down, two to go," Zachariah smirked, "let's make things interesting."

He swept his arm along the ground, producing a wall of fire as he went, "let's see you get pass this."

"He's got Devil Fruit powers!" the little one cried.

"Just like the girl!" the last one, a pretty average guy, agreed.

Zachariah turned to look at the girl, seeing her engaged with the leader.

And he was impressed with what he saw.

The girl slapped her hands on the guy's shoulders and flipped over him, delivering a painful-looking axe kick to the small of his back, sending him chin-first to the sidewalk, pretty ballsy for someone in a miniskirt.

Indeed the young lady was wearing a miniskirt; as her outfit was comprised of an orange fleece vest (kinda like Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future), blue and white horizontally striped top with three quarter sleeves that revealed her midriff, maroon belt, gray pleated miniskirt, black thigh-high stockings, and heeled maroon boots that stopped halfway between her ankles and lower calves that flared out from the ankle up. She also had waist-length chocolate hair with two streaks framing her face; the right silver and the left dark navy blue.

The leader got up… only to receive a tornado-encased punch to the gut, jettisoning him several yards away.

"And stay away this time!" she barked at him as he roughly landed.

"Gladly!" he spat back, getting up, "I'd rather be the dominant one in the relationship anyway."

As he hobbled off, Zachariah turned to her, snapping his fingers and igniting a small flame.

"I'm hungry. Are you in the mood for roast pig?"

The girl burst out laughing, "thanks for the help. I've never met another person with Devil Fruit powers before. My name's Madison Mercedes."

"Zachariah Kuller," he introduced himself as they shook hands.

"Never seen you around before," Madison smiled.

"I just came over from Sprangu," Zachariah replied, "I finally setting out on my dream to become a pirate… like so many of the greats. I came to Noen to get my first ship."

"You're going to be a pirate? That is so cool! And you're in luck! My dad's the harbor master; he can totally set you up! Come on, I'll take you to him!"

Back at the ship yard…

Madison led Zachariah into an office decorated with the standard nautical knick-knacks. Seated at the desk was a slightly husky gentleman with burnt orange hair slicked back and a trimmed beard. He wore a white suit and magenta dress shirt underneath. The nameplate upon his desk read, "Eugene Clarence Mercedes, Esq. Harbor Master."

Mr. Mercedes looked up, "ah, darling. How are you doing?"

Madison smiled, "just fine, daddy, though I did have a run in with Gabe. But don't worry; my new friend and I scared him off for good. And it's a good thing, too. I think this time he was determined to make me his no matter what."

Mr. Mercedes, being the loving father he was, wore a livid mask before schooling it into a pleasant expression.

Turning to Zachariah, he bowed, "well then, young man. You have my eternal gratitude for assisting my little girl. If there's anything I can do to repay your kindness, please don't hesitate to share it."

Madison smiled, "well… there is one thing, daddy dearest. Zachariah's come over from Sprangu to buy a ship. He wants to travel the seas and see the world. So, I told him you could assist him in that regard."

The harbor master beamed, "I certain can. Zachariah, was it? You've come to the right place! Any particular model you have your eye on?"

"I have enough for a ketch, cutter, or sloop."

"Ah… you're in luck. We just finished work on a sloop. Come along, I'll show you."

Mr. Mercedes led Zachariah and Madison down the dock to a brand new vessel. It was about fifty feet long and about thirteen feet wide with two masts and a phoenix figurehead with wings spread back to the anchors, as well as the head jutting out to serve as the bowsprit. Just before the fore mast was the capstan and a few feet behind the second mast was the helm, with the entrance to below deck a few feet behind that.

"She's built for a crew of six," the harbor master explained, "complete with gallery and map room. Does she meet your needs, young Zachariah?"

"She's great!" he beamed, "I'll take her!"

"Excellent!" Mr. Mercedes declared, "I'll also throw in a map, materials to design a flag, as well as give you a discount for helping my daughter, not to mention provisions."

After the transaction was complete, as Zachariah was unfurling the sails, he noticed Madison carrying a bit of luggage onto the ship.

"What's that for?" he asked.

She smiled, "I've always wanted to go out to sea and see the world. Daddy knows he can trust you so if it's alright, I can come with you. It is alright, isn't it?"

Zachariah smiled, "of course it is! Welcome aboard, first mate."

Madison smirked. "Glad to be of service, captain."

And chapter three is done! So Capt. Zachariah Kuller obtains his vessel, as well as first mate in the form of the lovely Madison Mercedes. What adventures await now that the adventure and formation of the crew are underway? Stay tuned!


End file.
